LARAMIE — Ridiculous Bungee Fitness sounds like it will be just as the name of this new Laramie business implies. Completely ridiculous.
Picture fat bodies flying through the air attached to bungee cords. It’s easy to imagine all the ways this could go horribly wrong for the less than fit. Where did this idea come from, a "Saturday Night Live" skit?
It actually came from Thailand in 2016, but started going viral on TikTok in 2021, after the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it's going mainstream with bungee studios opening across the nation, including now in Wyoming.
The approach is tailor-made for TikTok. A few insane and eye-catching reels of people bouncing around like they're Tigger in Winnie the Pooh are bound to attract eyeballs.
But there’s a lot more to it than funny TikTok videos, as I discovered when I gave this new health care trend a try myself in Laramie, where Kayla Gregory has opened a new fitness club which is devoted to what she calls Ridiculous Bungee Fitness.
Initially, the harness setup felt completely awkward and ridiculous. But one jumping jack later, I could instantly see why this fad is so popular.
It took so much pressure off my already stressed joints, making possible aerobic maneuvers that I know from personal experience are normally not too advisable for me.
Jumping jacks? No problem.
Lunges and squats? Also no problem.
These maneuvers also got an extra boost of resistance thanks to the stretchy bungee cord. Its tension can be customized to suit an individual’s level of fitness, whether they’re a rank beginner like me, or a seasoned, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) athlete.
With just a little training, even overweight recruits can fly through the air with ease, Ridiculous Bungee Fitness owner Kayla Gregory assured me.
Stick with it, and I could one day be popping back and forth like some kind of spooky ninja, like all the other students in the class I had visited.
A new fitness craze has made it to Wyoming. Riculous Bungee Fitness has recently opened its doors in Laramie. While on the surface, the fad looks ridiculous, it's actually a smart way to workout, because it eases stress on joints. (Courtesy Ridiculous Bungee Fitness) 
Kayla Gregory leads a class at Ridiculous Bungee Fitness. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Kayla Gregory leads a class at Ridiculous Bungee Fitness. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
People Do Bump Into Each Other Sometimes
Joint pain is one of the reasons Holly Steinkraus decided to give bungee fitness a try
“So, I had seen this on Facebook and everything and I was always like, ‘Oh that looks like so much fun,’” she said. “So, when it came to Laramie, it’s like, I’ve got to check this out, because I have a lot of joint issues. I’m on some oral chemo for breast cancer, and so my wrists hurt, my ankles hurt, my lower back hurts, and this allows me to do a good cardio workout without putting a lot of weight on my ankles or wrist.”
Her bungee fitness workouts average around 300 calories per workout, Steinkraus said. But unlike traditional workouts, her ankles feel fine afterward.
“And it’s a lot of fun,” she said. “I mean the music is fun, the dancing is fun, the instructors are fun,” she said. “It is a kick in the pants.”
Steinkraus has been introducing her friends to the concept by hosting parties at the fitness club, which she said are a blast.
“You can invite up to 12 people,” she said. “And then you’re less worried about making a fool out of yourself in front of your friends. That’s the best way to check it out I think.”
People who are beginners do run into each other, just like they might on a Saturday Night Live Skit, Steinkraus added. But it’s all fun and games. Nobody got hurt, and everyone was laughing.
A new fitness craze has made it to Wyoming. Riculous Bungee Fitness has recently opened its doors in Laramie. While on the surface, the fad looks ridiculous, it's actually a smart way to workout, because it eases stress on joints. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
A new fitness craze has made it to Wyoming. Riculous Bungee Fitness has recently opened its doors in Laramie. While on the surface, the fad looks ridiculous, it's actually a smart way to workout, because it eases stress on joints. (Courtesy Ridiculous Bungee Fitness)
Road Trip To Oklahoma
Gregory, herself, came to bungee fitness after a difficult surgery.
“My doctor told me that I had to get back into the gym,” she said. “Otherwise, I was going to basically disintegrate, because I’d had a hysterectomy at 31 years old. And I’m a younger lady with two boys, and she’s like, if you want to keep up with them, and keep doing what you’re doing you have to put muscle mass on.”
It didn’t matter how Gregory did it, her doctor added. Just do it.
“I was going through a divorce at the time,” Gregory said. “And so, I hired a personal trainer, and I was like, ‘Your job is to mentally put me in this place.’”
One of the things she learned from that was that she absolutely hated cardio and ab workouts.
“It’s the worst in the gym,” she said. “Core and cardio are terrible.”
One of her friends, meanwhile, who knew she was struggling, sent her an Instagram reel of bungee fitness.
“I was like, 'Oh my gosh, that looks like a blast,'” Gregory said. “And it’s low-impact, high-cardio core workouts. Everything you hate in the gym, right?”
Gregory knew she had to try it, but when she looked for a class in Wyoming, there weren’t any within 200 miles of Laramie. So, she took a road trip to Oklahoma to try it out. And liked it so much she got certified as an instructor.
When she came home, the first thing she did was open a business focused on bungee fitness.
“I am the first one in the state of Wyoming,” she said. “I am also the first one in a 200-mile radius of us.”
In Shape For Summer
Gregory has been working to attract more converts ever since. Like Trinity Stolzwood. An asthma sufferer, who initially only tried it just because it looked fun.
She hadn’t done much working out because her asthma triggered too many attacks. But something about the bungee fitness method felt different. She only had to use an inhaler once or twice the first time. These days, she can usually get through a class without using one at all.
She loved it so much, she decided to become an instructor, joking that she “pestered” Gregory until she gave in. But in reality, Stolzwood is just as serious about Gregory’s mission to get more people moving in a way that’s actually fun, instead of yet another chore everyone knows they should be doing.
“I really think that’s important, and this makes it a lot more accessible,” Stolzwood said. “It’s less awkward. It’s more of a let’s have fun and take the work out of workout.”
Stolzwood focuses on the slow-movement classes, while Gregory does the HIIT classes.
Gregory believes bungee fitness should appeal to Laramie, in particular, because it has many outdoor enthusiasts who need ways to stay in shape all year long for their favorite outdoor sports.
“We have runners, we have bikers, we have all that,” she said. “And this is really healthy on your joints, so it gives their joints a break, but lets them still comfortably do their exercise.”
Gregory has already had people asking her to bring bungee fitness to places like Cheyenne and Casper. She’s open to that, eventually.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah guys, let’s get it taking off here first, and then I definitely want to head in that direction,” she said.
Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
